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Recreational offshore fishermen must have new permit

Published: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 10:51 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, January 18, 2013 at 10:51 p.m.

A newly launched program requires recreational offshore anglers to acquire a free offshore landing permit to catch tuna, billfish, swordfish, amberjacks, grouper and snapper, and to report catches of yellowfin tuna to the state.

The goal of the permit is to provide accurate records of yellowfin tuna landings to help Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists manage the fisheries, the agency said.

Tagging tuna can provide information about their movements, migrations, stock structure, growth, population, schooling behavior and physiology, according to the LDWF.

The permit is available at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/rolp.

Anglers who land yellowfin tuna must report the catch prior to offloading the fish. Reporting can be done digitally on a mobile cellphone application or by calling 877-792-3440 and responding to the prompts.

Charter captains must use plastic yellow tags provided by the department to report catches aboard their vessel. Guides must report their landings by the 15th of the month following the month in which the yellowfin tuna was landed.

Charter captains are responsible for recording their clients’ catches as well.

If anglers and captains fail to report yellowfin tuna catches, it will be considered a stage one violation, which can result in a hefty fine and loss of fishing privileges. However, agency officials have indicated a “learning period” will be granted.

Tags are available in New Orleans, Bourg, Grand Island, New Iberia and Lake Charles. Initially, a charter captain can get 50 tags at one time.

The LDWF held an informational workshop Thursday night at the Houma Municipal Auditorium.

Some attendees’ concerns involved the burden of having to obtain enough tags or risk not being able to fish.

“If you’re a guy that catches a hundred tuna a week, we’ll work around that,” said Jason Adriance of the LDWF. “We just want to make sure there is some compliance in the daily reporting before we just give you 400 tags right away. If you need more, we may ask you to enter some data before the deadline.”

If compliance is good, there is no reason captains can’t get what he or she expects to use in a season right away when they come in, Adriance added.

Daryl Carpenter, captain of Reel Screamers Guide Service in Grand Isle, said his first reaction was that there are already too many regulations.

“However, the department’s desire to do this … is needed to secure our catches in the future,” he said. “I have to give the department a lot of credit in that we had many meetings on the subject with the understanding that it is coming. Give us your input so that we can make it as painless as possible. They agreed to almost all our requests.”

<p>A newly launched program requires recreational offshore anglers to acquire a free offshore landing permit to catch tuna, billfish, swordfish, amberjacks, grouper and snapper, and to report catches of yellowfin tuna to the state.</p><p>The goal of the permit is to provide accurate records of yellowfin tuna landings to help Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries biologists manage the fisheries, the agency said.</p><p>Tagging tuna can provide information about their movements, migrations, stock structure, growth, population, schooling behavior and physiology, according to the LDWF. </p><p>The permit is available at www.wlf.louisiana.gov/rolp.</p><p>Anglers who land yellowfin tuna must report the catch prior to offloading the fish. Reporting can be done digitally on a mobile cellphone application or by calling 877-792-3440 and responding to the prompts.</p><p>Charter captains must use plastic yellow tags provided by the department to report catches aboard their vessel. Guides must report their landings by the 15th of the month following the month in which the yellowfin tuna was landed.</p><p>Charter captains are responsible for recording their clients' catches as well.</p><p>If anglers and captains fail to report yellowfin tuna catches, it will be considered a stage one violation, which can result in a hefty fine and loss of fishing privileges. However, agency officials have indicated a “learning period” will be granted.</p><p>Tags are available in New Orleans, Bourg, Grand Island, New Iberia and Lake Charles. Initially, a charter captain can get 50 tags at one time.</p><p>The LDWF held an informational workshop Thursday night at the Houma Municipal Auditorium.</p><p>Some attendees' concerns involved the burden of having to obtain enough tags or risk not being able to fish.</p><p>“If you're a guy that catches a hundred tuna a week, we'll work around that,” said Jason Adriance of the LDWF. “We just want to make sure there is some compliance in the daily reporting before we just give you 400 tags right away. If you need more, we may ask you to enter some data before the deadline.”</p><p>If compliance is good, there is no reason captains can't get what he or she expects to use in a season right away when they come in, Adriance added.</p><p>Daryl Carpenter, captain of Reel Screamers Guide Service in Grand Isle, said his first reaction was that there are already too many regulations.</p><p>“However, the department's desire to do this … is needed to secure our catches in the future,” he said. “I have to give the department a lot of credit in that we had many meetings on the subject with the understanding that it is coming. Give us your input so that we can make it as painless as possible. They agreed to almost all our requests.”</p>